Elasi
The Elasi were a humanoid race of pirates and smugglers, with anarchistic and sometimes paranoid tendencies. In the 23rd century, their space fleet consisted of ships similar to the Klingon D7 class, but with different bridge modules and no long neck. ( ) ]] Appearance and Behaviour The Elasi were a species nearly indistinguishable to humans who reside on Elasi Prime. They had a reputation of being pirates and smugglers, and had a tendency to antagonize foreign bodies. They traditionally dressed in clothes that featured studs and other metal facets, mixing both utilitarian and punk-era styles of dress. They typically sported a type of aviation glasses. Facial hair was very common amongst males. :The purpose of their eyewear was never mentioned. Society and History The Elasi were in firm opposition to all forms of authority, and had a strong dislike of the Orion Syndicate. The Elasi were grouped into clans, and had a loosely-organized societal structure. Before they obtained access to warp engines, the Elasi lived under a dictatorship with striking similarity to the German Third Reich. A planet-wide revolution resulted in the dissolution of their government and marked the rise of anti-authoritarian schools of thought. After the revolution, clans of merchants gathered together and formed a government-like organization dedicated to upholding the ideals of freedom and autonomy. It is debatable whether or not this organization held any power over Elasi citizens on a social level, but it was undeniably the largest military entity in Elasi Prime and kept relations with foreign bodies in order. A small police force existed to punish criminals. When the Elasi achieved warp drive and began to explore space, they established two colonies, one in the T'sera system, and the other in Delta Virginie. These two colonies had high autonomy. When the Elasi made contact with other races, especially the Klingons, they noted aggressive tendencies among these races, and realized they could invade Elasi space very easily. Because these other races outmatched the Elasi ships & troops in number and technological sophistication, the Elasi "government" made a decision. They laid a high-density minefield in the Elasi system, and its colonies, to deter invaders. To enable trade and merchant business, a few corridors were created in the minefield that were safe for travel, but in a emergency the corridors in the mine field could be closed very quickly. Many poor clans began to pirate alien ships in Elasi space and around it, picking them clean of cargo, and selling it on Elasi Prime at a low price. At first the the merchant clans, seeing this piracy as a threat, tried to put a stop to it. However, in short order they realized it was much easier and more profitable to buy the low price stolen cargo and resell it on the normal market for normal price in Elasi planets and offworld. The result was that the main source of riches and commerce on Elasi Prime and its colonies became piracy. The Elasi "government" officially condemned the piracy in Elasi space, but, they did not make any real effort to catch the pirates that worked outside Elasi space. Piracy and Ships The Elasi used hijacked, stolen and modified ships primarily, but they also had a navy that used their ship design. But because of their uniqueness, it was very strange to find two identical Elasi ships. The most typical Elasi pirate ship, in the time of James T. Kirk, was a heavily modified Klingon D7. Other pirate ships owe their origins to the Orion syndicate, or spaceship scrapyards. Most of hulls of their ships were purchased, bartered for, or stolen from these junkyards. Some were rebuilt from hijacked ships of the Federation or the Klingons. Elasi shipyards made ships of standard designs and personalized designs, but they scavenged and modified any alien ship device or part that they thought was better than the Elasi design. The Elasi military had the only Elasi ships that were made over a standard design, and were the only 100% genuine in Elasi design. Most of the pirate fleet consisted of ships that were scavenged and adapted from other ships. (For instance, the Elasi Storm Class Frigate used most of the hull and graff (Klingon warp drive) drive units from an old D5 Klingon battle cruiser, an Elasi bridge module and a Lyran photon torpedo tube pod, etc.) The high density of the Elasi minefields made it very dangerous for Klingon or Federation ships to counter Elasi raids or chase down Elasi pirates once they entered the Elasi system. This high density minefield was also dangerous for damaged or overloaded Elasi pirates ships. The Elasi had many small pirate bases outside Elasi Space, near the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone and along the borders; most were located in asteroid fields. The Elasi pirates are renowned for their piloting abilities and so were quite adept at navigating a typical asteroid field. See also * Category:Societies and cultures Category:Species